Regina 2013 - AAR Number One - Golan Heights, 15mm

Syrian T-62s rumble into action - models by QRF

Note - This post was originally published as a guest post at Analogue Hobbies.  Click here for the original. GB.

Greetings again to the visitors at Analogue Hobbies.  I'm sorry to interrupt the steady stream of entries to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (well, not sorry if it interrupts Ray), but I'm sure many of you have noticed your recent entries to the competition have been slow to appear on the Blog.  That's because I have rocketed out to Regina for a wonderful visit with Curt and Sarah, and we have been gaming our faces off!  Here is the first of a few AARs from the trip - a tank battle set in on the Golan Heights during the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

Syrian T-62 company - nearly all QRF models, with a few Old Glory

Those of you who visit the Fawcett Avenue Conscripts pages will have seen the Golan Heights in 1973 appear as one of my not-infrequent "new insane projects" back in the summer of 2012. I have painted a good sized pile of 15mm Syrian and IDF tanks and infantry since then, and it was fun to kick off the gaming here in the centre of God's prairies with a Yom Kippur game.  We used the Bolt Action rules engine for the game, with the platoon-activation modifications our Fawcett group has used previously for 15mm WW2 games.

Centurion Sh'ot MBT - model by Peter Pig

In the 1973 surprise attack on the Golan Heights a small number of IDF tank battalions, spread thin along the "purple line" at the frontier, held out heroically - and at very high cost - against several Syrian divisions.  Many Syrian units broke through holes in the IDF lines during the first two days and tried to find their way to the bridges over  the Jordan River. If they had succeeded, it would have been game over in the north for the IDF. This scenario imagined an action involving of one of those units - a company of Syrian T-62s approaching the "customs house", a very old bridge and collection of buildings that straddled the previous border with Palestine.

Table on the first turn - Syrian platoon enters along the road

Historically the Syrian spearheads approached this location, met some resistance, and turned back - night was approaching and they were not sure what defences were in place. If only they had known at the time there was practically none, the 1973 war might have turned out differently. So this scenario is a "what-if" of sorts - what if the Syrians were more aggressive?

Centurion arriving as a reinforcement

The table was 6'x4', with the Syrian force - a company of 13 T-62 MBTs - entering at one edge, and having ten turns to get at least two tanks across the old bridge representing the crossing of the Jordan river (I think the actual bridge was a Bailey-type bridge, but I found the stone piece evocative of the age of the place in question).

Traffic jam on the advance - the tank in the foreground is Old Glory

Another picture of the Old Glory tanks - one has already been dealt with by IDF gunners

Opposing this tide of armour was a small force of IDF tankers composed of reservists coming up into the fighting - two Centurion Sh'ots behind some improvised defences, and three more arriving from off the table during the game. The old buildings represented an orchard and farm area near the "customs house". The IDF mission was to stop the Syrians at all costs - if they could knock out or disable eight of the Syrian tanks, it would halt the attack. But would they last?

T-62 platoon struggles forward under fire, but at least they took out one of the Centurions (at top)

Curt took the IDF side and I plated the Syrians. The Syrians started with one 3-tank platoon already coming down the road, and would arrive in platoon-sized batches over the first three turns, while Curt would receive another Centurion on each turn starting with the first until all five were on the table.

IDF Centurions await the Syrians

I tried to split the difference between moving and firing, thinking I could put enough fire on the IDF to to knock them out AND overrun them. I mean, I had a 13 to 5 advantage, right? No such luck! Soon T-62s were burning on the road, causing a traffic jam and causing the tanks to detour. The Bolt Action rules model the movement of tracked vehicles very well, limiting the turns of the vehicles.  You need to think ahead a bit - sure you can turn and move, but will your flank be exposed? Will you be able to move again from where you end up? When you are trying to get 13 tanks moving, this is a challenge.

Syrian T-62 settles in for some cover to duel with the Sh'ots

As more T-62s arrived the battle heated up.  The Syrians managed to knock out one of the Sh'ots.  For good measure Curt parked one reinforcing Sh'ot on the bridge over the river, and moved the other Centurions forward aggressively.  Tank shells criss-crossed the battlefield as both sides blazed away.

The fate of most Syrian tanks on the Golan Heights in 1973

IDF tanks under heavy fire - one knocked out

I had one platoon which managed to stay relatively pin-free, and they cause some trouble for the IDF - immobilizing a second Sh'ot and putting some heavy pins on a third. It was the opening I had hoped for.  But I was not able to get the other tanks moving consistently - I had one fellow zipping down the flank, but he got tagged by the Sh'ot on the bridge.

Curt's last line of defence

Ultimately the IDF knocked out the eight T-62s needed in order to halt the attack by the ninth turn, but it was a close-run engagement, with the IDF having lost two MBTs themselves. My early decision to try and engage hurt me in the end - we should have been running up that road for all we were worth, losses be dammed!

More burning and immobilized T-62s

The game was a blast - I love a table filled with burning tanks, and the Golan Heights in 1973 is a setting that obliges that preference for sure!

Table at the end of the game

Following the battle we sortied for lunch in Regina and then re-set the table for our second game - the Sudan in 1884. Now let me see if I can find all of those entries from Ray here on Curt's computer and delete them...

The Lucky T-80 - A Legiocon Battle Honour

T-80U tank no. 342 in action at Legiocon. It would significantly outlast its warranty...

Dallas posted a report of our roadshow game at Legiocon in Winnipeg last weekend.  Convention-goers Ray and John joined the game to play along.  They were great guys and I think they really got into the game.

My portion of the Warpac contingent included a platoon of T-80U tanks, and these squared off against Dallas' and John's Leopard 2A6s and MILAN teams.  Many of the Soviet tanks were on fire after a couple of turns, but one particular vehicle - T-80U no. 342 - survived hit after hit after hit after hit.  John finally remarked that the tank should be named "Felix the cat".

Legiocon gamer John helped me with the translation of "cat"

After John made that remark, the T-80U in question survived another hit from a Leopard and yet another couple of MILANs.  The tank would eventually be knocked out of action, but only after tying up a lot of NATO attention and giving the Chemical Commies a chance to get the job done.

I promised John I would paint the battle honour in question on to the vehicle. Here are the photos for proof!

Low-key pseudo bourgeois personalization of the People's Property - tolerated under combat duress only...

John used his tablet to look up the Russian translation of "cat", and I figured this would be the right nickname.

Dallas and I tried to figure out how long we have had these Kitech models in action - I think it has been since 2006, so over six years! Tank no. 342 has repeatedly seen action in West Germany (all for perfectly legitimate, legal responses to unprovoked NATO aggression of course) and after this death-defying performance I figured it was time that at least one of these commie battle wagons earned an action honour.

That weird face is supposed to be "Felix the Cat". So nobody is going to give me any commission work for cat cartoons...

So "Kowka" went on to the tank. I also painted a (very, very) rough approximation of "Felix the Cat" beside the moniker on the stowage & bits along the side rear of the turret.

We will beat their swords into ploughshares...after we beat them up...

Would a T-80U actually survive long enough against NATO's tanks, missiles and air force to accumulate any kind of meaningful battle honour?  Well, I'm glad we never had to find out for real.  But toy-soldier T-80U no. 342 has earned it - the next time it rolls into liberate the proletariat of Helmuth Kohl's corrupt bourgeois regime, it will do so as "The Cat".

LegioCon Roadshow Game!

LegioCon is a long-running local wargames show masterminded by Bryan and Garth of Legions IV Hire and Maxx Collectibles, respectively. The businesses are local retail establishments that cater to historical wargamers and cardgame/boardgame/tabletop gaming types here in Winnipeg. LegioCon is staged at a local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion that has a lot going for it, not least of which that it is licensed and serves cheap draft beer ;-)

Conscript Greg and I rolled out to the show about noon on Saturday to put on a WW3 game featuring Bundeswehr vs. the infamous Chemical Commies. I set up a pastoral setting with a small German village dead centre in the table.
 

The Bundeswehr had bivvied in the village with a convoy of trucks. The local Fuchs News/Deutsche Welle affiliate had live reporters on the scene.

The German objective was to exit the trucks off one of the short table edges (their choice). The Russians were more numerous but had to split their forces, with half their strength deploying from each short edge.

Commies came strapped with BTRs and scary chemical warfare gear.

Initial dispositions. I know it looks like the vehicles are insanely close together (they are) but for convention games we like the opposing forces to get into action right away, both for time management purposes and to hold the interest of the people playing. On Saturday we had two very cool walk-ups, Ray and John, who played the game along with Greg and me.

Greg's T-80s face off with Marders and a Leopard 2A6 at middle extreme right.

Facing the other short edge, the tanks deployed to support the trucks (carrying Kraftwerk master tapes, Helmut Kohl's adult film collection, or some other cargo vital to the continued existence of the Bundesrepublik) in their mad dash off-table.

"...Klaudia Klum, Fuchs News."

We used our proprietary "Red Storm!" ruleset for the game. It's very fast playing and stuff blows up good, typified by the result when Ray's T-72 went head-to-head with a Leo 2A6... (Ray had been warned by Greg that the T-72s were somewhat cupcake-like in terms of toughness vs. the Leo...)

Bundeswehr command group mit hund. 2IC has iPhone (back row) while the Oberleutnant has upgraded to an iPad (front centre). Soldier with assault rifle carries a Samsung Galaxy S in flecktarn holster.

Trucks begin to roll out of the village. Snipers are in the building at centre and did nothing for the whole game, although true to form for the "cool models" they will likely report back that their presence was instrumental to the win...

Meanwhile, on the other side of the table, Greg's T-80 is knocked out on the road along with two BTRs. Commie infantry has deployed along the rail cut and exchanges fire with the BW troops behind the hedge.

Ray's T-72 angles for a side shot on the Leopard; he's already knocked out its main gun.

Second Leopard moves out. BW infantry move to support the truck convoy; the Russians had to take the convoy with infantry models as opposed to blowing them up.

"I'm here with Lieutenant Ivanov of the 322nd Motor Rifle Brigade just outside Altfeld. Lieutenant, your squad has just been decimated by Bundeswehr 20mm automatic cannon fire. How are you feeling right now?"

Trucks manage to sneak past in a conga line. Ray just missed winning the Priority roll that would have allowed him to block the convoy with his T-72...

A table full of burning vehicles is the sign of a fun game. Thanks to Ray and John for playing our game, and to Greg for bringing out his awesome Commies and the explosion markers (and for the beer :-)  Roll on PrairieCon in June!!

There was also a bunch of other games going on, including a Flames of War tourney and 40K gaming... but what I really wanted to show you is this...

A couple of guys brought out an amazing modular table on which they were playing a Lord of the Rings game - "The Siege of Pelargir".

The table was 5x10 feet, half of it an amazing medieval-style town complete with harbour, and the other half countryside.

The buildings are all scratch-built from foamboard and other materials. The tile roofing is all hand-cut.

Great detail!

View from the countryside. The city wall has a removable section that has been swapped out for a "breached" section.

Close-up of the breach.

The amount of work and detail that went into this is mind-blowing, as is the sheer quality, especially in the town section. This kind of layout takes a huge effort to transport and set-up for a weekend show and my hat's off to these lads. It makes our convention efforts seem pretty lame by comparison, but at least we're out there putting on a game.

More Colonial Sudan - Madhist Armoured Emir and Cavalry

Death to the colonial oppressors! 

Another colonial Sudan entry for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. This is a group of Madhist cavalry led by an armoured emir and his standard bearer. The figures are all from the Perry Brothers' amazing Colonial Sudan collection.

Armoured emir, with cloth barding

Another view of the barding and the chain mail

Cool armour - not sure it stops a round from a Martini-Henry...

The emir and the standard bearer are riding horses clad in a cloth barding that is quite unique - you can still see contemporary examples of it online from festivals/celebrations in various parts of Africa today.  I tried to copy the example from the Perry Brothers' product listing on their site (the paint job on that site is obviously much, much nicer).

Standard bearer riding high - banner allegedly says something about serving god, but it may say "up with Queen Victoria's skirt!" for all I know...

The banner is from The Virtual Armchair General.  It's not the nicest banner I have ever worked with, but it is still OK and the service from them is top notch.  I recommend them to you for any gaming needs you might have.

Baggara tribesmen

Rider with a "liberated" Remington rifle

The other riders are armed with a mix of spears and Remington breech-loader rifles, likely captured from one of the multiple Egyptian expeditions crushed by the Madhi's troops as his rebellion took hold of the Sudan.

I experimented with a new macro lense for a couple of these pictures 

I almost went cross-eyed painting the cloth barding on the emir and the standard bearer, but I was pleased with the result.  The Madhists will now have a nice, scary looking leadership focal point the next time we get the Sudan figs out on the table!